Murray scores career-high 28 points as No. 23 Ole Miss beats BYU 96-85 in OT

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Jaylen Murray scored nine of his career-high 28 points in overtime and No. 23 Mississippi beat BYU 96-85 on Thursday in the Rady Children’s Invitational to extend its nonconference winning streak to 19 games, the longest in the country.

Murray hit a jumper 1:17 into OT to give the Rebels the lead for good. He added two free throws, a three-point play and two more free throws to help put the game out of reach.

Dre Davis and Matthew Murrell added 18 points apiece for the Rebels (6-0) in a fast-paced, sometimes-chippy game, while Sean Pedulla had 13.

Kanon Catchings scored 17 points to lead five players in double figures for the Cougars (5-1). Egor Demin, Richie Saunders and Fousseyni Traore added 16 apiece, and Mihailo Boskovic had 10.

Ole Miss will face No. 13 Purdue in the championship game on Friday.

BYU guard Egor Demin (3) dunks over Mississippi forward Jaemyn Brakefield (4) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

Takeaways

BYU: The Cougars hit three 3-pointers in the first 4:40 and seven in the first half, four by Catchings. BYU finished 12 of 38 overall from behind the arc.

Ole Miss: Murray’s previous career high was 26 points in a 77-68 win last season against Mount St. Mary’s.

Key moment

Murray made a layup to tie it at 77 with 26 seconds left in regulation. After Traore missed a short jumper, Pedulla’s desperation heave bounced off the back of the rim.